File photo of EAM S Jaishankar and Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi

New Delhi: India on Friday clarified the issue of cancellation of the joint release of commemorative stamps to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and China. While China tried to blame India saying that the latter had not given "feedback" for the launch, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in New Delhi said the claim was "factually incorrect".

"Joint release of commemorative stamps to mark the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between India and China was one of the activities agreed with the Chinese side last year. However, there had been no discussion on any launch date with any Chinese authorities for this activity," MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said during his weekly briefing.

The MEA said, "We have also seen the Chinese embassy's tweet suggesting that this event was cancelled by the Chinese side on account of no feedback given by the Indian side before the launch time agreed by both - this is factually incorrect."

Chinese embassy spokesperson Ji Rong, in a tweet on Wednesday, had said, "Regarding cancellation of joint issue of commemorative stamp to mark 70th anni of dipl ties btw #China & #India, the reason is Indian side had not given feedback before launch time agreed by both sides. China State Post Bureau made the notice according to customary practices."

China's state post bureau has decided to cancel its plan to jointly launch commemorative stamps with India, according to a statement released on its website on Tuesday, reported Chinese state media CGTN.

India, on the other hand, clarified that while the two countries decided a series of events to celebrate 70th anniversary but joint events have not begun yet.

"It may also be noted that the launch of the 70th anniversary celebrations itself has not taken place yet, and therefore, the issue of going ahead with joint activities under its ambit does not arise," Anurag Srivastava said.

However, this controversy comes just days after the Chinese envoy in India Ambassador Sun Weidong participated in the opening ceremony of "Beautiful China, Beautiful India" online Photo Exhibition in New Delhi, which the embassy said is part of the series of celebrations for the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and India.

Speaking at the event on Tuesday, the Chinese envoy said, "It is a great honour to attend the virtual opening ceremony of the "Beautiful India Beautiful China-Dragon and Elephant Dance Together for Win-Win Outcomes" Online Photo Exhibition. This event is one of a series of celebrations for the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and India. I would like to extend my heartfelt congratulations to the convening of the event."

This comes amid continued tensions at the border between India and China. Both sides have been working to ease border tensions in eastern Ladakh.